“The decisive moment, it is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as the precise organization of forms which gives that event its proper expression.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

A decisive moment is the split second when everything changes. It could be an instant from history that altered everything on Earth. Or a pivotal point in time that changed you personally. Perhaps a knockout punch in a heavy weight championship. The last block placed on the Pyramids. The first human step on the moon. A gunshot, a wrong step, or a glance, the decisive moment when fate propelled the world to greatness or drove it to the point of destruction.

The Chaos Group and CGSociety invite you to create an image to tell that story. Using any application to model and V-Ray to render, we want you to illustrate a blink-of-an-eye moment that changed the world. A moment that changed the big picture or had an impact on a person’s life. All industries using V-Ray can fit into the Challenge theme and are welcome to participate.

NVIDIA Quadro 5000 professional GPU

Transform your workflow
Quadro 5000 professional graphics solutions, built on the innovative NVIDIA Fermi architecture, deliver up to 4x faster performance than the previous generation across a broad range of design, animation and video applications. Featuring a new Scalable Geometry Engine™ technology, Quadro 5000 can process up to an amazing 950 million triangles per second, setting the standard for 3D performance benchmarks². Integrating high-performance computing with advanced visualization, Quadro 5000 transforms modern workflows.

Fox Render Farm - $5000 render fee

As the last but not least step of a project, rendering is always a big challenge to artists. With the
provided $5000, $3000 or $2000 rendering fees @ Fox Render Farm, you can choose from the
Metered Render Service and the Unlimited Render Package according to your project and enjoy
the leading cloud-computing technology.

What's more, there is no time limit with these prizes, which means with so much rendering
power and the new adjusted price; you can render one big project for several weeks or several
small projects for a longer time period.

Fox Render Farm - $3000 render fee

Fox Render Farm - $2000 render fee

A V-Ray license of choice

Choose between V-Ray for 3ds Max/Maya/Softimage/SketchUp/Rhino
V-Ray became rendering solution of choice for many 3D production houses due to its capability to deliver high quality photorealistic images in the shortest time.

$3000 cash prize from Chaos Group

Pdplayer

Pdplayer is a professional image sequence player and viewer for the 3D, CG and VFX industry, created by Asynthetic and distributed by Chaos Software. It supports most industry standard file formats including EXR, HDR, DPX, CIN, R3D, TGA, SGI, IFF, PIC and VRIMG. Multiple layers can be color-corrected and composed together in real time.
Despite being feature-rich, Pdplayer is fast and lightweight. It starts quickly and flips through frames with ease.

MAXON - CINEMA 4D Visualize or Broadcast

Your choice of 'CINEMA 4D Visualize' or 'CINEMA 4D Broadcast'

CINEMA 4D Broadcast, Release 13
CINEMA 4D Broadcast has everything you need to create dynamic broadcast graphics quickly and easily. If you are a motion graphics artist looking to add 3D to your existing suite of tools, then this is the ideal choice for you.
CINEMA 4D Broadcast contains all the features of CINEMA 4D Prime as well as specific tools for creating motion graphics, including industry-leading cloning tools, advanced rendering options such as global illumination, a high-end library packed with 3D models, cameras, lighting setups, video clips, and much more.

CINEMA 4D Visualize, Release 13
Whether you need to present the designs for a mobile phone, a building, or a car, CINEMA 4D Visualize provides everything you need to produce fantastic images and animations quickly, easily and to any level of realism.
It's in your hands whether you want to complete every step using CINEMA 4D Visualize or just add the finishing touches. Included are all the features of CINEMA 4D Prime, giving you a comprehensive suite of modeling and texturing tools, rendering options and so much more. In addition, Visualize provides advanced rendering options (such as Global Illumination, physical sky or sketch-style rendering), huge libraries of models, textures, lighting environments and much more.

MAXON - CINEMA 4D Prime

CINEMA 4D Prime, Release 13
Renowned for its ease of use, speed and professional results, CINEMA 4D Prime is an ideal choice for all graphic designers looking to add 3D to their toolset. CINEMA 4D Prime's interface is designed to ease you into the powerful and exciting world of 3D graphics. The intuitive workflow will inspire your creativity.
Adding CINEMA 4D Prime to your existing pipeline of 2D applications opens up a wealth of new design possibilities. It's easy to turn 2D artwork into 3D elements using import options such as Illustrator or EPS. Combining images or movies with 3D objects is also simple thanks to a wide array of export options for image formats such as QuickTime, jpeg, After Effects, Photoshop and many more.

3DConnexion - SpacePilot Pro

Residing at the top of 3Dconnexion’s line of professional 3D mice, the SpacePilot PRO ($399) is designed to deliver advanced control of 3D models, easier access to the power of professional 3D applications, fewer interruptions in the design workflow, and superior comfort, which is particularly important for professional CAD users working in long design sessions (more than four hours a day). Its breakthrough features include second generation QuickView Navigation technology, dual-function Intelligent Function Keys and at-a-glance access to important information via the full-color LCD Workflow Assistant.

3DConnexion - SpaceMouse Pro

The newest addition to 3Dconnexion’s line of professional 3D mice is the SpaceMouse Pro ($299). With an advanced ergonomic design and innovative On-screen Display, it delivers superior comfort and a simpler, more productive workflow. The SpaceMouse Pro combines 3Dconnexion’s patented six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) sensor for intuitive and precise 3D navigation with an advanced ergonomic design and innovative On-Screen Display, to deliver superior comfort and a simpler, more productive workflow. This easy-to-use 3D mouse also features quick view keys, an advanced ergonomic design, Intelligent Function Keys, On-Screen Display, Keyboard Modifiers, and a Virtual NumPad.

3DConnexion - SpaceNavigator

3Dconnexion’s SpaceNavigator ($99) is an affordable, entry-level 3D mouse for professionals and enthusiasts. Using the SpaceNavigator 3D mouse, it’s easy and fun to fly through 3D worlds or interact with objects in over 250 3D applications with remarkable control. It allows effortless movement and control in all dimensions. Simply push, pull, twist or tilt the 3Dconnexion cap to simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate. It’s like holding the 3D model or camera in your hand. It features a FIT button, which instantly restores the model to the center of the screen, and a MENU button, which gives fingertip access to important navigation settings.

CGWorkshops - Your choice of 1 CGWorkshop

Learn from the best in the world! CGWorkshops instructors are all industry professionals with first-hand experience working with the most recent software and pipeline practices. Your prize means you can select one of our fully mentored, online workshops. You'll receive personal feedback on your work from both your instructor and your fellow students in our closed online classroom. The best way to improve your skills in 2012! See our range of workshops here.(valid for one year)

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The CGSociety

The CGSociety is the most respected and accessible global organization for creative digital artists. The CGS supports artists at every level by offering a range of services to connect, inform, educate and promote digital artists worldwide. More about us